Bus changes on course for East Hill

Brent Mutis - Vernon Morning Star Published: August 21, 2010 12:00 PM

Changes to the Pleasant Valley and East Hill bus routes means some transit users will have to walk a little further to catch the bus. The Route-2 Pleasant Valley bus and the Route-4 East Hill bus have had some stops removed in order to allow drivers to remain punctual. This will allow more service in the morning and afternoon says City of Vernon transportation technician Amanda Watson. “We’ve wanted to expand the buses, but operators have said if you expand it, you’ll have more problems,” she said. “To allow us to expand service in morning and afternoons, we had to ensure that the buses stayed on their schedule so we had to cut out some loops on the Pleasant Valley and East Hill routes.” BC Transit planners and schedulers drove the routes and timed them and it turns out drivers were being asked to do a 33-minute trip in 29 minutes. “They did agree that was the difficulty,” said Watson, adding she realizes the removal of some stops puts added responsibility on bus riders.“We appreciate it will mean some people have to walk farther to certain stops,” she said, adding the buses will now go straight down 18th Street rather than making an S-shaped loop. “It was felt that it was a necessary step.”

But East Hill resident Ron Dawson is worried the changes will be more than a minor inconvenience for his elderly mother. “My concern is my mother is moving into our house,” he said. “She uses (the bus) all the time and now she’ll have to walk seven blocks approximately.” Dawson contacted The Morning Star to note the signs posted on bus stops near his home stating permanent closure for “system improvements.” “It doesn’t sound like system improvement,” said Dawson.

Currently, BC Transit is conducting a bus review in the Central Okanagan district and they will be shifting their attention to Vernon in October. BC Transit’s Master Plan for the Okanagan is supposed to take effect in September of 2012 and could see increased frequency of buses in Vernon which would also allow routes including more distant stops. “If we get a 10- or 15-minute frequency, you can then go further out and back because you’re not attempting to go round in half an hour,” said Watson. She notes the Pleasant Valley and East Hill transit users could be inconvenienced for as much as a year but says input is welcome. “It could be for a year, but we want anybody who feels they need (to provide) input, they can either wait for notices of public meetings or... push BC Transit. “We need people to again help us to demonstrate the need for transit in the area.”